Christian bandsters

[Diamond2008 0]

First of all, sorry this is so long!! I've been wanting to reply to people all week, but it hasn't worked out. So here is a weeks worth of responses in one!! (Got to love the weekends!!!:huggie:)

sisterC, Yeah, I am a little concerned about what others think. Because I’m not banded yet it seems to some people that it might be open for discussion about whether it’s going to happen or not. The thing is that I’m about 99% sure that I’m going to do it. It seems like a great way to help keep my eating in check. I won’t be able to overeat like I can now. I try not to think about the other’s opinions and focus on my own need to be healthy. I think God let’s us use the LapBand as a tool to be healthier. Kinda like some people need to take medicine to help them be healthy (heart meds, insulin, anti-depressants, etc.). I sometimes wonder if I’ve told too many people. But I can’t go back on that now! I haven’t told anyone at work, but a lot of my friends and family know. I wanted support from them (emotional and prayer!!) but I also wanted to prepare them to the changes I will be making with food. I didn’t tell people so they could vote on whether I should do it or not. But that is the response from some. Mainly from those who don’t know how much I’ve struggled with weight, body image and self-esteem OR they just don't know about the surgery. I do try and just take their opinions as how they care about my well-being and leave it at that.

coltorismom, I like Joyce Meyer’s a lot. She is such an encouragement to me. I watch her show on-line while I work out on my elliptical trainer in the morning. It works out well because I can watch it when my schedule allows. She seems like she has a good balance of self care and taking care of others while following Christ, and that’s helpful for me. I think a lot of my earlier teaching was about how to only take care of others and then I’d eat to take care of myself! How did your eval on Thursday go??

Wenjea, How’s it going with the food choices?? I’ve been struggling with that too. I’m trying to just breathe deeply when I’m feeling like I really NEED a hot fudge sundae. (That and a massage were suggestions at a support group I went to and massages are great but need to be scheduled!!)

Everyone, thanks so much for your prayers! It’s so encouraging to know that there are folks out there praying for our surgery dates and the actual surgeries! And I love reading your prayer requests and being able to lift them up in prayer too. Prayer Changes Things!:w00t:

I have a praise, I was able to talk with the RN of the WLS program and she’s said I could call her on Wed. to find out what happened at the surgical review team meeting. (At the hospital I’m going to they review all the baratric cases 2 times a month, and last time I didn’t get reviewed because they didn’t get all my paperwork in time from my psych eval. After the review they send a letter to let the person know the next step/ doctor’s appointments/ surgical date.) I’m really glad to not have to wait for the mail! She seemed very encouraging about it. And I really appreciate that!!

As a side note, the group I went to had Gastric Bypass patients too, and I felt scared at some of the side effects they were having (vomiting EVERY time this one guy ate, the dumping thing, and one lady was down to 105 and couldn’t stop losing weight. But all of the situations seemed to be self-inflicted….. eating really solid food really fast, eating a lot of sugar, and for the lady she was smoking and not sleeping and other stuff.) It made me think that the LapBand was definitely the surgery for me. Does anyone else think about whether they should do Gastric Bypass instead of the band? (Thinking about it helped me see all the positives for how the band fits for me!)

Allens, love the drug story!! :biggrin2:

blessings to all,

Diamond

[smilin_apple 0]

Hi all!!!

I go for my 4th appointment since my Band was placed on Nov 7th. This is suppossed to be my 3rd fill but I am not sure if I should get one. I would like to know from people who have had their bands for a little while or longer when they said that was enough of a fill for now? I have an AP Band that can hold a little over 10 cc's and I have about 5.5 cc's in it now. For the first time when I had this last fill done on Feb 7th until about Feb 21st (2 weeks) I was having trouble eating anything until around 7 pm at night. Now that I am able to eat throughout the day over the last week I noticed the amount is getting a little more each day. Right now I can eat either 1-2 pkts of oatmeal for breakfast. OR I can have about 1-2 cups of salad and about 3 oz of meat OR instead of just meat about 1 cup of a meat /pasta combo.

The other day I was able to eat 2 small frozen burritto at one sitting but that is not the norm.

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know because I am worried, I leave for Hawaii on Mar 13th and I don't want to be back at how I was after my last 1 cc fill for two weeks throwing up almost every day when stuff would get stuck for 45 minutes at a time.

By the way does anyone else get food stuck too???

[candy8360 0]

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to share my success. I feel like I've hit my sweet spot since my last fill last week. I am up to 7cc's in my 10cc vanguard band. I am not feeling hungry at all and am able to resist the little temptations MUCH better than I could before the fill.

Hope everyone is doing well today.

[wombat712 2]

smilin-apple - I'm pretty tight right now - I ate 1/2 a meatball for dinner. Ok then I had a sugarfree fudge pop (yumm). Yep - the bad stuff still goes through pretty easy so I eat a little of the bad stuff to just help get my calories in.

My current fill has gone through a third tightening (when I got it - couple of weeks later tightens up - and now tightened even more!!) never had that happen before.

I know that we have to learn to listen to our bodies - and it's hard to always listen :thumbup: Since that last fill was so hard on you, you might ask for a tiny fill - maybe .25 or .5.

Hugs and prayers for you!!!

Yea candy on getting a good fill!!! Everything is different with good restriction

wombat

[Wenjea 1]

Diamond2008 - The food choices were good this weekend. My sister and her family were up so we went out for Italian. I ate half a breadstick and half of a lasagna. She kept asking me if that was all I was going to eat and I told her I was stuffed. I took the rest home and had it for lunch the next day. We went to my sons house for cake and ice-cream and I asked for a sliver of cake with a small scoop of ice-cream. For me it's got to be about portions size, not feeling deprived. I lost the two pounds that I put on last week so I guess I did okay.

If gastric bypass was our only choice I would not have done surgery because of the side effects that come with that. Thank God that the band is available! Good luck on your surgery . . hope it is soon now.

Smilin Apple - I have had three fills and my last one was in October. I am really tight in the morning and get looser as the day goes on. A warm Protein drink is all I can get down in the morning. I have oatmeal and yogurt around 10am. I sometimes think I should get another fill but I went through a very long plateau and the nutritionist said it was because I wasn't getting enough calories so my body was going on starvation mode and hoarding calories. She said I've got to eat more to lose more. I am almost nine months into this and my weight loss has really slowed down but it does slowly move in the right direction and I feel that the way I eat now is like a normal thin person so I think I will stay with three fills for now.

[allensforJesus 0]

:thumbup:Praise the Lord for all His infinite wisdom, love, grace, and mercy!

I received my approval letter today from the insurance company. I am hoping to have my surgery approx. in probably June. I go to the sleep doctor in May, and I want to get settled on a machine before I have the surgery. Please continue to remember me when you pray, my family as well. I had a job interview at the hosp. where I work at, for day shift in surgery regristration. Please pray that I can get that position, Lord's will be done!

May we all have a blessed day with Jesus!!!!!

[A lot less 1]

Hello All,

Sorry,for just posting, but I have been dodging rain, wind and tornados today. LOL

We have had really bad weather here in East Texas. God really protected me on the way to the dr. and back to work. I had lost just 2 lbs. but I am losing inches, which the dr said was good. I hope that this fill will be the ONE. I need to up my exercising and change a few more eating habits.

Glad to hear ALL the good news and you all will be in my prayers. Allen, I love your "drug" story. LOL

Take care, be safe, stay focused and be blessed.

[SusieQ1964 0]

Hi to everyone:smile2:

God is so Good! He knows all of our struggles and is walking

with us through this journey.

I started with the Lap Band Process on Jan 16th 2008. I had

all the testing to do and had to lose 10% of my body weight.

Praise God, I saw the Surgeon on Monday and will have my

Surgery on March 11th. I am so excitied:biggrin2:.........................

After talking with the Dr. I realized that this works when we do

our part of eating & drinking what they say and of course

exercise. I believe that it is a tool for me that God has brought

into my life.

I don't have a lot of support so I really appreciate your prayers

and support. I pray for all of you.:biggrin:

Susan

Idaho

[A lot less 1]

SusieQ, a lot of people don't have family and friend support and we are part of your family and we have plenty support for you, sisters and brothers in Christ. I pray every day for all of us. God is truly good to us, better than we are to him sometime.

I am thankful for all of you.

We had TAKS here today and everyone is just about drained and that does include the students , they are a lot quieter, which is great. But I know that tomorrow they will be in usual form. LOL Geez, I can't wait.

Has anyone noticed how the days and weeks are flying? It seems that we just had a weekend, but I'm not complaining. :thumbdown:

Don't forget DAYLIGHT saving time start Sunday. Fall backward, Spring forward (set it one hr ahead).

Stay focused and be blessed.

[smilin_apple 0]

smilin-apple - I'm pretty tight right now - I ate 1/2 a meatball for dinner. Ok then I had a sugarfree fudge pop (yumm). Yep - the bad stuff still goes through pretty easy so I eat a little of the bad stuff to just help get my calories in.

My current fill has gone through a third tightening (when I got it - couple of weeks later tightens up - and now tightened even more!!) never had that happen before.

I know that we have to learn to listen to our bodies - and it's hard to always listen Since that last fill was so hard on you, you might ask for a tiny fill - maybe .25 or .5.

Hugs and prayers for you!!!

Yea candy on getting a good fill!!! Everything is different with good restriction :eek:

wombat

Well I got a fill... I got .3 cc's I am now at 6.5 cc's total. I am feeling ok...but not eating much... I was able to get down about 4 ounces of watery cream Soup yesterday over about 1 1/2 hours or so. But I only drank about 16 oz of Water throughout the day. I know that was bad for me but I was having a hard time getting it down.

I think I am getting the hang of it now. With the continued prayers and God's help I know I will have it down in no time.

[wombat712 2]

Praise God smilin-apple!!! I would be doing better if I could just remember to slow down!!! Ugh - i've pb'd more with this last fill than the entire time. I'll get smart soon and figure it all out

hugs & prayers to all

wombat

[allensforJesus 0]

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. AMEN!

Everyone please keep my family in your prayers. They will be starting Mon. to check if my DH has cancer. I'm leaving it in the Lord's hands, He knows what's best! His will be done. I love Him supremely, I could not make it in this ol' world, if I didn't have the Lord! PLEASE pray for us!!!!!!!(it will be alright, I know.

May we all have a blessed day with Jesus!!!!!!!

[wombat712 2]

I'm prayin for you and your family Karen!!!! {{hugs}}

[Diamond2008 0]

Karen,

May you continue to praise God throughout it all. I'll be praying for you and your husband. I like how you are trusting in God. It's hard but worth it. My dad just recently had cancer and looks like he kicked it. There are so many better treatments now!

Wombat and Smilin' it's good to hear how you are doing with your fills and all. It helps others know what to expect!

And Candy... it's great to hear about someone hitting their sweet spot :biggrin2: I'm sure that we are all ready to be there with you!

An update on me..... my case was reviewed by the surgical team on Wed. and they want me to do a sleep study to make sure that the insurance will approve my case. I had a one done 3 years ago, as I have sleep apnea and wear a CPAP at night to breathe. I'm hoping I can get that paperwork from my previous Primary care Physician and move forward. That's the latest. I'm still praying that it's God's timing and His will and not my own.

[candy8360 0]

Hey Diamond, I am praying right now for God to keep His arms around you as you continue through the process. And, we all know if He is for you, who can be against you?

I'm noticing a difference now in my weight. I stayed stuck for a while there, but now I am seeing the scales go down! I'm also seeing a big difference in what I'm eating. I'm not doing too well with meats, I force them down, but they are not always comfortable. I'm eating more yogurt and spinach and taco bell's pintos and cheese. Can still handle salad ok. Drinking protien shakes and eating Protein bars for my snack. I'm having to remind myself its snack time, don't feel hungry that much either. I'm trying to eat five small times a day to boost my metabolism. I surely can tell a big difference since my last fill. When I go back at the end of this month, I am sure that I will tell the doctor I don't need any more fills for now. I am happy where I am. It is a little dissapointing not to be able to eat meat like I used to, but this is what I asked for, and I am so thankful to finally be seeing the results I wanted.

Now if I could just make myself start excercising!!! That's what I need prayer for!

thanks everyone. Hope you all have a good day and a good weekend!